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Is Your Food Infected?
Traces of E.coli and salmonella lead to
FDA tainted food recalls
By: Jessica Moulite
Lunchtime has never been more dangerous. As students head back to school all across the nation, many issues concerning certain foods have surfaced to the mainstream. Recently, several common household food items such as peanut butter, spinach, cookie dough and various meats have been recalled as "tainted" by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In July, Nestlé USA was under investigation by the FDA after a strain of E. coli was found in a sample of Toll House refrigerated cookie dough. Although the outbreak was contained, the FDA still warns consumers against eating raw cookie dough. According to the Center for Disease Control, every year nearly one-fourth of Americans become ill, 350,000 hospitalized and 5,000 die, because of food-related illnesses.
Due to many outbreaks of food borne illnesses such as E. coli and salmonella throughout the nation, discussions are being made throughout Washington, D.C. as to whether the creation of two separate branches of the FDA would reduce the amount of food-related problems in the U.S. Should the split take place, one agency would dedicate itself to food safety, the other to medical products. As a result of the changes, stricter regulations in regards to food care, packaging and development would occur.
According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, the Government Accountability Office approved the idea for a single food agency in 1999. Since then, lawmakers have been trying to make it a reality.
According to the Center for Disease Control, every year nearly one-fourth of Americans become ill, 350,000 hospitalized and 5,000 die, because of food-related illnesses.
Another alternative to the division of the FDA would be the passage of The Food Safety Enhancement Act. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, passage of this bill would increase inspections to high-risk facilities and all facilities, including warehouses, every four years. This is in comparison to the FDA, which inspects food factories only about once every ten years.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services has released a list of products that are under recall and under suspicion of being tainted. Some of those products include chili, soups, cantaloupes, various cheese products, alfalfa sprouts and even pancake mix.
The FDA recently issued guidelines to help produce growers eliminate any microbial contamination of tomatoes, greens and melons. Egg safety has also been a concern; each year almost 79,000 cases of food borne illness occur through consumption of salmonella-contaminated eggs.
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture have instituted new strategies to help keep the country's food supply safe. The safety measures should prevent further food contamination, but remember to always follow some food safety basics when it comes to mealtime preparation.
For more information on food safety: www.hhs.gov
For a full list of Food & Drug Administration recalls, visit: www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm
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